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Calvin Harris Feat. Florence Welch

Artist

Calvin Harris Feat. Florence Welch

Why we feature this artist The voice has enough weight to meet the production “Sweet Nothing” gives Florence Welch an electronic setting large enough to meet the force of her singing. Calvin Harris’s 2012 collaboration builds around the tension between an emot…

From
United Kingdom
Sound
Dance-pop, electronic

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Tracks to explore

1 track

The artist, in context

The story of Calvin Harris Feat. Florence Welch

Why we feature this artist

The voice has enough weight to meet the production

“Sweet Nothing” gives Florence Welch an electronic setting large enough to meet the force of her singing. Calvin Harris’s 2012 collaboration builds around the tension between an emotionally exposed vocal and a production designed for a much wider physical space. Welch does not lose her characteristic intensity when the arrangement grows; the two forms of scale keep answering one another.

The original 18 Months single

The record arrived shortly before 18 Months, placing Welch among the album’s featured voices. Her performance brings a different weight from the lighter, more conversational singing elsewhere in Harris’s catalogue. A phrase can feel vulnerable and commanding at the same time.

The production gives that performance a clear structure. Relatively exposed vocal passages lead into a larger electronic release, with the recurring melodic material connecting the two. The song’s emotional argument is established before the instrumental opens to its full size.

Power without losing the detail

Welch’s delivery has enough variation to keep the larger moments from becoming one continuous peak. The beginning of a line, the change in pressure and the release of a held note all affect how the surrounding production is heard.

That is the most useful way into “Sweet Nothing”: follow the vocal rather than waiting only for the instrumental return. Harris’s arrangement gives the performance reach, but Welch supplies the instability and urgency that make the reach matter. The record joins a recognisable singer to a strong production identity while allowing both to retain their force.

Essential releases

2012

Sweet Nothing

2012

18 Months

2012

Sweet Nothing — remix editions

Sources and further reading

Sweet Nothing — Calvin Harris original official video

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Sweet Nothing — Sony contemporary release announcement

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Sweet Nothing — original Sony single

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